Practicing Discipleship

In worship on Sunday, September 12th I challenged our congregation to join me in praying this prayer each day throughout the Fall. As we think about our lives as followers of Christ, and as we consider what Christ has first done for us and the immense gift of grace we have received, we are invited to also consider how we live out our lives of faith in response. I know I sound like a broken record (or maybe that needs to be updated to a bad mp3 file?) but I cannot get past what an amazing thing it is that my sins are forgiven because God loves me, so forgive me if I continue to go on about how we live in response to such a wonderful gift.​

Intern Lucy and I have been preaching in a sermon series about discipleship practices and we will continue throughout October. These practices are a framework for our lives of faith AND they inform how we interact with the world around us. This includes our family and friends, coworkers, classmates at school, etc. These practices are important because of what they mean for others we encounter, but even more important for shaping us into the people God desires us to be.

"Discipleship is being called to walk with Christ, equipped to live like Christ, and sent by Christ to love and serve others in the world!" (Pastor Michael Foss)
We are approaching these practices as follows.
Worship - Work toward the goal of weekly worship, and have a time of daily devotions and prayer.

Serve faithfully - Participate in at least one Lord of Life ministry each year and perform five acts of kindness each week.
Grow in your faith and understanding of God - Participate in at least one Lord of Life class each year and read at least one gospel from the Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) on your own.

Invite and Encourage - Care for each other, encourage one another, and invite five people this year to join you along the way.

Give - of your time, talents, and treasures with an attitude of gratitude and generosity. Grow toward the goal of a tithe (10% of income given away) and beyond.
Follow along with the sermon series, visit our website, pray the prayer each day and let's see where we are by the start of the Season of Advent!

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